You may have read in recent communications that ASI launched an effort to collect donations for the American Red Cross to help the tens of thousands of innocent people whose lives have been disrupted by flooding in the Midwest.

Unfortunately, in some cases the water hasn’t receded as much as expected and in others more rainfall has made already serious situations worse.

The Red Cross has indicated that it desperately needs cash contributions for its Disaster Relief Fund and has set up an exclusive Website for receiving online donations from ASI members, employees and industry colleagues – it’s at http://american.redcross.org/asi-pub.

To help those in need of immediate food, shelter and clothing, The Cohn Family and ASI have made a cash contribution of $25,000 on behalf of our employees and 25,000 members, and The Cohn Family and ASI will make a second $20,000 donation when total industry contributions reach $100,000.

I urge you to visit http://american.redcross.org/asi-pub today and do what you can to help. This Website will automatically track the amount of each donation, so that it’s counted by ASI toward the $100,000 goal. Just so you know, all other information is kept strictly confidential and we don’t see names, companies or anything else.

If you’ve already donated using the link that was provided in my earlier messages – different from the new one in this message – and you faxed the receipt to Mark Quinn at ASI, at 215-953-3908, then your donation was counted and thanks for your support.

Your generous giving in recent ASI charitable drives for disasters like the Florida hurricanes and the South Asia tsunami was a warm reminder of how compassionate and caring we are not only as individuals, but as an industry. Please join me in making a difference.

As you might have read a few days ago, ASI Computer is based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, one of the areas struck by horrible flooding.

Fortunately, our offices there have not been impacted by flooding.

We are offering use of our offices to any ASI distributor, supplier or decorator in the Cedar Falls area whose own office or home office has been flooded and is unavailable for use. We have 12 cubicles and a conference room available, but no warehouse space.

There will be no fee for the space, and we will accommodate as many people as possible — for a few hours, a day, or as long as a month — to help get businesses going again among flood victims in the ASI distributor-supplier-decorator network.

In addition, the Cohn Family and ASI have made a $25,000 cash contribution to the American Red Cross that’s earmarked for flood relief services. The Cohn Family and ASI will make a second $20,000 donation when total industry contributions reach $100,000. Visit http://american.redcross.org/ and designate your gift to the Disaster Relief Fund. Any amount will help and is greatly appreciated, as officials said recently that this fund is empty and needs to be replenished. To ensure your gift is counted by ASI, fax a copy of your donation receipt to Mark Quinn, chief financial officer, at 215-953-3908. Or mail it to Mark at Advertising Specialty Institute, 4800 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053.

During the past several days, I’m sure you have joined me in thoughts and concerns for the tens of thousands of innocent people whose lives have been disrupted by flooding across several Midwest states. The photos and videos are nearly unbelievable.

For those of us at ASI, the news and the visuals are very personal:

— The Norman Cohn Family is originally from Iowa, and ASI Computer is based in Cedar Falls. Several employees have lost personal possessions or sustained flood damage to their homes.

— I’m originally from Columbus, Indiana, and much of that rural town of 40,000 is under water or swept away.

To help those in need of immediate food, shelter and clothing, the Cohn Family and ASI are making a cash contribution of $25,000 to the American Red Cross on behalf of its employees and 25,000 members. In addition, the Cohn Family and ASI will make a second $20,000 donation when total industry contributions reach $100,000.

Visit http://american.redcross.org and designate your gift to the Disaster Relief Fund. Any amount will help and is greatly appreciated, as officials said this morning this fund needs to be replenished. To ensure your gift is counted by ASI, fax a copy of your donation receipt to Mark Quinn, chief financial officer, at 215-953-3908. Or mail it to Mark at Advertising Specialty Institute, 4800 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053.

We have been advised that shipments of product aren’t preferred at this time, due to challenges associated with distance and logistics.

Your generous giving in recent ASI charitable drives — for the victims of the Florida hurricanes and later for the tsunami in South Asia — was a warm reminder that we are a compassionate, caring industry. Please join me in making this another remarkable effort.

I’ve received emails and calls from several suppliers and distributors about the ASI Holiday & Incentives Expo for fall 2009, which we announced a few weeks ago in a press release and in an earlier blog post.

As you may know, the event will be limited to 400 supplier booths and to suppliers with at least four stars (out of five) in the ASI Supplier Performance Ratings System, or those nominated by distributors through a written testimonial to ASI.

Distributors are excited about a show designed to jumpstart the busy fourth-quarter holiday selling season. And, since the number of booths is limited by the venue size, they’re equally pleased that we’re helping to determine which suppliers are eligible to exhibit based upon their performance rating. read more

The Advantages Roadshow provides opportunities for distributors, suppliers and decorators to connect and do business locally across the United States, and over 9,200 distributors and suppliers have attended so far this year – with several weeks to go.

We just announced the 2009 schedule – the second year for the shows – and it includes six locations where the Advantages Roadshow will co-locate with the Stitches Roadshow.

That’s important, because embroidery equipment and supply companies can do business with suppliers and distributors – perhaps for the first time.With over 700 distributors on average attending an Advantages Roadshow per week, I urge you to check out the new schedule and determine if there’s one near you to attend.

Registration is free and the shows are open to ASI members and non-members.More details are in today’s press release, below:

Folio magazine recently invited us to place a print ad in its latest issue to congratulate ASI on winning two consecutive Neal Awards for Counselor magazine’s editorial excellence.

While the two-page spread is about us on the left half, on the right half we dedicated the space to educating Folio’s readers – media professionals and businesspeople responsible for marketing decisions at their companies – about how important advertising specialties are for branding themselves.

We included brief stories, pulled from Successful Promotions magazine, that highlight how other magazines – like Jane and Maxim – have successfully used advertising specialties to get results for their marketing campaigns, parties and events.

We also invited readers to visit www.successfulpromotions.com to subscribe to Successful Promotions for more case studies and to find a local distributor.